Web Design with Psychology in Mind

If seeing a red and yellow color scheme inexplicably makes you crave a Big Mac with fries on the side, you’re not alone. Everyone is familiar with McDonald’s classic golden arches on a red background. They didn’t choose those colors on accident—red and yellow are known to stimulate appetite and catch attention. Other major brands, like Walmart, strategically pick their logo colors for similar reasons— blue evokes a feeling of safety and security that consumers want in their go-to supermarket, healthcare provider, etc.

Companies constantly use psychology tactics to provoke a call to action or arouse feelings. This practice is referred to as neuromarketing and can be applied to any initiative your brand develops. This type of psychology hack can be especially helpful in the online marketing world, and the right technique can help you boost your online engagements and leads. Here are 3 ways to optimize your website with neuromarketing tactics!

Color Code

Just like Walmart and McDonald’s, your website can use colors to evoke feelings. For example, green induces feelings of peace and well-being, gold suggests warmth and optimism, and purple: creativity and imagination. Research has found colors subconsciously influence emotion and are easy to mentally process.

Imply Urgency

This aspect especially stands for websites selling products. Generating a pressure of urgency induces a fear of missing out (also known as loss aversion), which pushes buyers to buy. Statements like “Limited time only!” and “Only 1 left!” drive users to make decisions faster.

Anchor your Audience

First impressions matter. The “anchoring effect” is a common human experience: when someone latches onto first impressions as the permanent truth. One Google study found that the human can generate a first impression in 17 milliseconds! One great way to take advantage of your website’s first impression is with simple navigation and content that appeals to emotions.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a great website. By determining your ideal audience and using the power of neuromarketing in your web design strategy, you can create an awesome effect on your users. The key is translating your audience’s wants and needs into the perfect design for your brand.